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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. scale — size or range
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. scale — in music
  7. land — a country
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. lie — to recline
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. land — to come down
  15. cold — not warm
  16. plane — a tool
  17. craft — boats
  18. craft — a skill
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pitch — completely
  21. season — of the year
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com